Eggs and Sperm from Stem Cells on the Horizon, Ethics Group Tells AAAS Meeting

Scientists may be able to grow eggs and sperm, in part or in whole, from multipurpose stem cells within five to 15 years, an international study group has concluded. It says that oversight structures must be in place before there are any attempts to use such cells for treatment of infertility or other clinical applications.

Those applications could be many years away, if they materialize at all. But the Hinxton Group—an international consortium of scientists and ethicists—says it is not too early to grapple with some of the challenging ethical and policy questions that arise from efforts to create gametes (sperm and eggs) in the laboratory from so-called pluripotent stem cells, or cells with the capacity to develop into all the different cells in the human body.

The group released a consensus statement on the implications of the research at a news briefing in the United Kingdom on 14 April. Members of the group's steering committee discussed the statement at a 15 April meeting at AAAS in Washington, D.C. The group was organized in 2006 to anticipate challenging issues surrounding stem cell research and develop guidance for ensuring scientifically and ethically defensible research.

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